The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, reacted to Lord Hutton's report by telling the House of Commons immediately, and without reservation, that he accepted it.
"The report itself is an extraordinarily thorough, detailed and clear document. It leaves no room for doubt or interpretation. We accept it in full," said Mr Blair.
He arrived in the chamber to cheers from Labour benches, as did the Defence Secretary, Mr Hoon. Conservative MPs sat silent and stony-faced as Mr Blair delivered his detailed statement.
The charge made against him by BBC reporter Andrew Gilligan could not have been more serious. "The allegation that I or anyone else lied to this House or deliberately misled the country by falsifying intelligence on WMD is itself the real lie." Those who made the charge should now withdraw it.
Dr Kelly, the government's weapons expert whose suicide prompted Lord Hutton's inquiry, was "respected here and abroad", said Mr Blair.
Mr Blair said the allegations were that he lied over the intelligence that formed part of the Government's case against Iraq and "second that I lied or was duplicitous in respect of the naming of Dr Kelly - leaking his name to the press when it should have remained confidential".
He continued: "The allegation that I or anyone else lied to this house or deliberately misled the country by falsifying intelligence on weapons of mass destruction is itself the real lie. And I simply ask that those who made it, and those who have repeated it over all these months, now withdraw it, fully, openly and clearly".
The Conservative leader, Mr Michael Howard, said he accepted the conclusions of Lord Hutton's report.
However he added that Lord Hutton's report had made it plain the September dossier had been "on one level sexed-up" and that the 45-minute claim had been given "undue prominence".
The report showed the wording in the dossier had been "somewhat stronger" than it would have been in a normal JIC assessment, he added.
"Is that not a very serious finding indeed? Does it not go to the heart of the reliance which can be placed on any public intelligence material in the future, at least while you remain prime minister?"
Mr Howard said the Downing Street meeting chaired by Mr Blair - at which it was decided to issue a press release saying that an unnamed civil servant had come forward - led "inevitably" to the naming of Dr David Kelly.
"Anybody with any sense would know that if you issue a press release like that the name would come out and that's why the press got David Kelly's name the very next day.
"Were you the only person who thought that issuing that press release would not lead to the naming of David Kelly? Is that what you're asking us to believe . . .
"When all is said and done I suspect that what will remain in people's minds is the blinding light that this inquiry has shed on the inner-most workings of the prime minister and his government . . .
Mr Howard concluded: "No one in government can look back on this episode with pride. The nation will, in due course, deliver its verdict."
Mr Blair responded with withering contempt. "Yesterday," he said in reference to the university top-up fees vote which the government won narrowly, "was a test of policy, you failed it," he told Mr Howard.
"Today was a test of character, and you have failed that too."